Running as part of the SeeAbility Sprinters Virgin Money London Marathon team, two Open Reality employees, Paul Wilson and Stuart Harper, have confidence enough to see them through to the finish line.
With both aiming for very respectable finish times under five hours, it was from an inauspicious start this marathon effort for the charity, SeeAbility began!
As a long-time sponsor of customer, SeeAbility’s Charity Sunburst Ball (formerly the Royal College for the Blind), the directors of IT reseller, Open Reality and its cloud services arm, BrightCloud, found themselves caught up in the excitement of the charity auction.
In the melee, one of the directors, Andy Grover (who is incidentally not running the London Marathon!) inadvertently bid for a place to run on the SeeAbility Sprinters Virgin Money London Marathon team!
Raising his hand to record the event on his iPhone, this photo turned out to be the most expensive and potentially exhausting photo of his life! Now the rather nervous holder of a SeeAbility Sprinters Virgin Money London Marathon team place, Andy arrived at the Abingdon office the following Monday with the “great news that one of the team has the opportunity to run the 2014 Virgin London Marathon!”
Whilst there were no immediate takers, it was no surprise that from a team so competitive that not one but two willing runners took up the Marathon Challenge.
“I’m enjoying the challenge,” said Paul Wilson, sales director, Open Reality. I’ve run a half marathon several times, but never did I imagine that I would run a full marathon, especially not the reputedly toughest marathon course in the world and in a field that includes Mo Farah, also making his marathon debut! Ultimately though, our goal is to raise as much money as we can for the charity we support, SeeAbilty,”
“While we did laugh when Andy, the most unlikely marathon runner at Open Reality arrived in the office with a place on our customer, SeeAbility’s London Marathon team, I recognised the great personal opportunity it presented me with,” explained Stuart Harper, sales executive, Open Reality.
“Whilst a baptism of fire, I have trained hard and I’m confident I can hold my own, though I don’t think the world record holder, the Olympic and world champion, the defending champion and the course record holder have a great deal to worry about. A time of under five hours would be great,” continued Stuart.
You can donate here if you would like to support Paul’s and Stuart’s fundraising efforts, raising much need funds for the charity SeeAbility.
About SeeAbility
SeeAbility is a specialist registered charity supporting people who have multiple disabilities, including visual impairment, learning and physical disabilities, mental health difficulties, acquired brain injury and life limiting conditions. Formally The Royal College for the Blind, SeeAbility has specialisms acquired over 200 years and is leading its field. Its proven holistic approach addresses the psychological, physiological and emotional needs of each person and this takes experience, highly trained staff, dedication, patience and shared knowledge. SeeAbility provides residential, supported living and day services to people living throughout Bristol, South Gloucestershire, Devon, Hampshire, Kent and Surrey. SeeAbility currently provides services across the South East.
